


The Drums of War

by vogue91



Series: Playlist Challenge [8]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Best Friends, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fear, Feelings, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Grudges, Loyalty, M/M, Mental Instability, Mind Games, Self-Doubt, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 05:39:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16804693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vogue91/pseuds/vogue91
Summary: Playlist challenge, depiction of various characters.





	The Drums of War

**Title:** The Drums of War

 **Characters:** Boromir; Meriadoc Brandybuck; Legolas; Samwise Gamgee; Eowyn; Aragorn; Smeagol/Gollum; Gandalf; Grima Wormtongue; Elrond

 **Pairings:** Legolas/Aragorn; Eowyn/Aragorn

 **Rating:** G

**Prompt:[489\. A mortal’s forever](http://vogue91.blogspot.com/2018/05/500themes.html)**

  1. **Sister Gypsy – Blackmore’s Night _(Boromir)_**



It was her voice in his mind.

Boromir had tried not to think too hard about the fate of the Middle Earth up until now, but she wouldn’t let him ignore it.

Galadriel’s voice told him of ruins and falling, and showed him that men weren’t going to come out alive of this war, and Boromir was scared for the first time in a long while.

He kept tears from falling, because he was still a warrior, and tried to shield his mind from her, despite knowing it was impossible.

So he didn’t the only honourable thing: he contemplated their destiny in the eyes of a mortal’s forever and told himself he was going to keep fighting until he was standing.

Fight the enemy, and fight what that witch’s voice kept telling him. They were not doomed.

  1. **Mayonaka no Shadow Boy – Hey! Say! JUMP _(Meriadoc Brandybuck)_**



Why did he always have to look?

Merry had spent his whole life cooking up disasters with Pippin, and some of that time trying to avoid for him to cross over the line. And this time he had.

He envied him, so much. Pippin’s mind was still in the Shire, still dancing and drinking and signing together, as if the war didn’t exist, as if they weren’t risking the Middle Earth as they knew it to disappear.

Hobbits shouldn’t have been there, but perhaps it was good that they were.

As Merry watched Shadowfax become a small spot in the horizon he shivered, realizing how limited a mortal’s forever was, and that he could’ve not have seen Pippin again.

But he had to be strong and think of it as he would’ve; they were going to be together once more. In the Shire, drinking and signing and making a mess. Just in their style.

  1. **Let her go – Passenger _(Legolas)_**



All of his years didn’t matter too much, he had found out since they had left Rivendell with Frodo and the Ring.

They didn’t matter right now, as he rode toward the Helm’s Deep and Aragorn wasn’t with them.

Somehow, Legolas had always thought he and the ranger shared the same immortality. Aragorn had been there for such a long time and not a wrinkle on his face telling them it could’ve been over.

He didn’t need wrinkles, though. All it took was a moment, and he was there anymore. And Legolas was left at the edge of the abyss, looking down at how ephemeral a mortal’s forever was.

He closed his eyes, picturing the man’s face in his mind and trying not to give in to despair.

There was a war to fight, more deaths to avoid, and hopes to rekindle.

He was going to do that, in the name of Aragorn. In the name of his mortal friend.

  1. **Stitches – Shawn Mendes _(Samwise Gamgee)_**



He had taken that mission seriously, because he had never been one to underestimate what people told him, even less if the warning came from Gandalf the Grey.

As serious as he had esteemed it to be, though, he could’ve never imagined the toll it was going to take on Frodo.

Sam had always trusted him blindly, up to the moment when he had been sent away in favour of that vile creature.

Gollum had helped the Ring poison Master Frodo’s mind, and Sam had paid the price.

As he realized how it had happened, though, facing the mortality of their forever and how there was no going back, he stopped.

The Frodo he knew was still somewhere under the veil the Ring had put on him, and he was going to find him. No matter the cost.

  1. **TORN – Ohkura Tadayoshi & Nishikido Ryo _(Eowyn)_**



Eowyn knew. She had known since the first moment she had laid her eyes on him.

Aragorn wasn’t a free man, and he wasn’t in too many ways.

There was a woman somewhere where his heart laid, and there was this war that he didn’t know he could win. The darkness was descending fast upon all of them, too fast for Eowyn to actually hope.

And yet, as she looked at their mortal forever, she couldn’t help wishing it could be different, wishing she could have a chance to fight the battle alongside that brave man who was risking everything for the fate of men.

Aragorn wasn’t a free man and there was no such thing as a free woman.

They could be, though. Eowyn was going to have faith in their mortality as their last weapon, and she was going to fight for him as well.

  1. **All I Ask – Adele _(Aragorn)_**



They were facing death. All of them were.

And Aragorn watched them feast upon the remains of one won battle, unaware of what was to come, and felt glad they found it in themselves to smile.

It not that he knew better; he was worse than them at rejoicing for the small victories, not while the eye was still watching them.

Legolas sat next to him, without saying a word, and Aragorn knew he understood, even without speaking.

They had a different take at this, Legolas had a choice; Aragorn was bound by the mortality of his forever, and knew that he would’ve died gladly, once all hope would’ve been gone.

“You think too much.” Legolas said, quiet, reading his thoughts all too well.

“Someone has to.” Aragorn replied. And, for him, he managed to put on a smile.

Hope wasn’t gone yet. He was going to live a while longer.

  1. **Face Down – Arashi _(Smeagol/Gollum)_**



The hobbit... the hobbit had been nice to them. Smeagol knew that, Smeagol could still recognize kindness, despite how long he had gone without it.

The fat hobbit doubted them; he was disgusting and filthy, and Gollum pressed inside his mind, he made Smeagol’s hands itch to tighten around his throat and...

No, but that would’ve been bad. Smeagol had killed before, Smeagol had given up on his mortal forever because of Deagol. Smeagol didn’t have to kill anyone anymore, not even for the precious.

And yet, the small beautiful thing called to them, it called them masters, it wanted to be snatched off the hobbit’s neck and be worn and used again, just like it used to be all those years ago.

_Then take it._

Smeagol didn’t like Gollum’s voice, he didn’t like what he said.

But he was going to listen, because he was still the only friend he had.

  1. **Savages – Pocahontas _(Grima Wormtongue)_**



Those filthy, lowly men, masters of horse and stables, unworthy to call themselves kings of that stretch of land. Grima had had to deal with them far too long, being looked at as if he was the animal.

He had had to bear through the sneers and insults, the murmurs and affronts, and he was ready to have back his dignity and far more than that.

He snatched a glance from Eowyn, his eyes caressing her features like his hands wanted to do her skin.

She too had disgust on her face when he looked at him, and she too was going to pay the price for it, to discover how little her mortal’s forever was worth when everything was going to be crushed by the hand of the White Wizard.

Grima was going to get his revenge on that vermin and he was going to take their lands and their filthy horses, and everything they had.

Their bad.

  1. **Wild Boys – Duran Duran _(Gandalf)_**



Had he been too hopeful?

Had he been a fool, assigning such a dangerous task to a hobbit?

Gandalf the Grey had his way. Gandalf the White was more confident in his magic, more confident about that war and what had to be done, but that didn’t mean he lacked in sentiment.

Frodo Baggins mortal forever would’ve been destined to perish the moment the enemy’s forces would’ve reached the Shire, but that didn’t necessarily mean he had to suffer from such a burden previous to his death.

It had looked so easy, to the sorcerer he had been, and was such a heavy decision now.

Gandalf stared at the ruins of Isengard, contemplating how deep the betrayal ran, how deeply the enemy worked to accomplish his goal.

And then told himself that Frodo was better than any of them, that he was the safe choice, for better or worse.

He was going to stand by his own decisions. No matter that the side of himself who had made that particular one was someone else entirely.

  1. **Can't help falling in love – Elvis Presley _(Elrond)_**



He had tried to do the right thing for both of them.

They needed to let go. Arwen was going to be dead soon, and he couldn’t imagine suffering through a worse pain than that.

He wouldn’t have fathomed a mortal’s forever for his own daughter, not until the moment she had laid her eyes on the ranger.

Who was he to tell her who to love? Who was he to force her to make the right decision and follow the likes of her to Valinor?

Arwen would’ve been alive forever there, and alone.

Was it so selfish of a father to hinder his own daughter’s chance at happiness, even though that could’ve meant death?

He was going to help Aragorn, to help her.

And he was going to hope they had all been wrong about how this was all going to end.


End file.
